Quote:
Originally posted by ubertuber
There aren't a lot of modern celebrities that I think are role models for me. People from the past stand out though...
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That line speaks more truth than many know. Like others have said, the "role models" (and I hesitate to call them that--very few of them are) of today are manufactured to sell things--be them records, clothes, sports tickets, or just an overall image. I think the media is to blame for this.
However, like sixate, I also see a *tremendous* problem in parenting today. Too many let the media and the TV raise their children. Quite possibly the most important thing that any parent can teach their child is curiosity. When a child is naturally curious, he will be less likely to accept at face value the barrage of junk that passes for entertainment. This child will be more likely to pick up a book, to educate himself. I was lucky to have parents who cared, and who fostered my curiosity. Too many parents don't do this.
It is also because of this general media blitz and the inability of most people to think for themselves that the media is able to so tightly control what information we have access to. When so many media outlets are controlled by a single entity, those at the top are able to pick and choose what information people have access to--and when there are so few other, independent avenues of information, what these conglomerates say is taken as fact.
The world is a mightily fucked-up place.